Shamon, you guys, shamon

Click it and download the track.

YMO in Kirin Beer Ad

I was digging through some of the things I checked "favorite" on youtube and had forgotten about this Japanese beer commercial featuring '80s electronic synth pioneers Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO), keep an eye out for that ridiculously gigantic Moog modular synth in the background:

The Online Keyboard Museum

I have been really busy lately. I have been really busy screwing around in the real world. I will post this item to distract you, the casual reader, for enough time so that I can recuperate and throw some more ideas down the old turnpike.

This online keyboard museum has all kinds of classic drum machines from the '70s and '80s, all simulated in glorious Macromedia Flash. I recommend trying the Boss DR-55 Drum Machine and the Electro-Harmonix Space Drum.



http://www.keyboardmuseum.com/d_machines/vdrums.html

Go... play.

Vestax Controller One Turntable

Return of the Ruckazoid! Check out this crazy turntable that was created by Vestax with design input from the Ruckazoid and D-Styles of famed Low End Theory residency. The magic secret that separates this deck from any other wheels of steel on the planet - it controls tones like a musical instrument. Using the buttons on the side or an accessory MIDI device, DJs (ahem, musicians) can scratch a record and control the pitch at the same time. Dig this bad-ass video demo:



As far as I can decipher, he's using the pitch shift buttons to change the tone on the center table spinning the main riff, while the table on the bottom playing the bass line is being controlled directly via MIDI keyboard. Looks like Controller One is able to adjust the motor speed of the table to instantly accomodate whatever note on the keyboard is played. Hot damn. There's certainly all kinds of crazy tricks to be pulled with this device, such as getting the record on the right screen to play backwards.

Check out the previous post on Ruckazoid for the link to his session on dublab where he explains a little bit more about the Controller One.

LISTEN to: The Depreciation Guild

Brooklyn based band The Depreciation Guild grabbed my attention on the Blip Fest 2007 DVD, which featured them rocking out their song "Butterfly Kisses" with an extra emphasis in the sound mix toward their song's 8-bit counterparts. An indie rock band that bases one-third of its sound around a hacked Nintendo Famicom? Sign me up...

The Depreciation Guild's sonic landscapes span vast virtual worlds with lush dreamy guitars and sweet melancholy vocals, all punctuated with the signature bleeping and blooping tones and crunchy drum effects unique to classic video game technology. The result is a transcendant shoegazing experience to get lost in for hours. The Famicom elements never distract or become a mere gimmick and the songwriting holds up in its own right.

Go check out their website where they have their album In Her Gentle Jaws available to download for donation or free. Gems like the epic searching of "Sky Ghosts", the frantic infatuation of "Butterfly Kisses" and the haunting nostalgia of "Nautilus" make this album and this band an unforgettable listening experience.

The Depreciation Guild
http://www.inhergentlejaws.com/

Ambient Youtube Video Project

This is really cool. Just click on a bunch of the videos at once and see what happens. Thanks to my buddy @chucksauce for linking me to this one.

http://www.inbflat.net/

WATCH it: Blip Fest 2007 DVD

The Blip Fest is basically the Mecca of electronic low-bit "chiptune" music. Held annually by collective group 8bitpeoples in New York City, artists from around the world converge and go wild, destroying braincells and eardrums alike using old home computers and hacked Nintendo systems. Basically it's my boyhood dream come to life, where playing a Gameboy makes a crowd of people go crazy, almost as if my secret childhood hobby of recording NES music onto cassette tapes to listen to on my headphones later has a sense of legitimacy now. Whoops, did I just type that out loud? Better distract you all with this video now...

Nullsleep // Blip Festival 2007: The Videos from 2 Player Productions on Vimeo.

Almost every artist uses some sort of creative implementation of now antiquated technology, predominantly Gameboys, Famicoms, and old Nintendo systems hacked to emulate sequenced music through their obsolete but oh-so-nostalgic sound chips. From solo acts to full on bands, they rock out on stage in front of an amazing light show with screens featuring glitched out motion graphics by visual artists inspired by broken NES cartridges.

Blip Fest 2007 was just about the best $15 I ever spent online. The production value is legit, definitely some very nice work by 2 Player Productions, everything is shot on some very nice cameras and the editing is superb. I still haven't even jumped into the special features, but the videos for Anamanaguchi, Virt, The Depreciation Guild, and Bit Shifter all made this DVD worth repeat viewing. Perhaps not for the easily motion sick or the epilleptic, but then again that's why they always put those warning labels in the instruction manuals next to the Nintendo Seal of Approval.

8bitpeoples - Blip Fest 2007
https://www.8bitpeoples.com/store/product/62